How long does it take for a young kitten to learn to use the litter box?

[Khadaji]

I am thinking about getting a kitten. How long will it take for it to learn to use the litter box?

[Q.E.D.]

Originally Posted by Khadaji

I am thinking about getting a kitten. How long will it take for it to learn to use the litter box?

Not long at all. Their natural instinct is to bury their waste. Put the kitten in the fresh box straight away, so she knows where it is. If she makes a mistake, immediately put it in the box and put the kitten in there too. She'll get the idea soon enough.

[Zabali_Clawbane]

Originally Posted by Q.E.D.

Not long at all. Their natural instinct is to bury their waste. Put the kitten in the fresh box straight away, so she knows where it is. If she makes a mistake, immediately put it in the box and put the kitten in there too. She'll get the idea soon enough.

Actually, that's not entirely true. Rhiow was nearly dead when we found her, and just barely weaned. She doesn't cover her poo, because she was never taught to do so by her mother. She was too young to leave her mother when we rescued her, and it shows. We love her anyway, and sigh and cover her mess when she's done. We use clumping litter, so urine clumps up. We cover the poo so it doesn't stink if it's inbetween cleaning/changing.

[Zabali_Clawbane]

Adding, if you were speaking of a feral coloney, and it's survival techniques you'd be more correct Q.E.D. Domestic cats have to learn such things though, it's been bred out of them. It's now handed down from Dam to Kit as lessons.

[Cheesesteak]

We got Bixby from a shelter at 4wks old. He took to the box immediately, but hasn't really gotten the cover your poo with litter thing. He scratches like mad at the box, but he's scratching the box, the wall, anything nearby, but not the litter inside. Sometimes he manages to get it covered a bit, but it's more luck than anything.

[Q.E.D.]

Originally Posted by Zabali_Clawbane

Domestic cats have to learn such things though, it's been bred out of them. It's now handed down from Dam to Kit as lessons.

No. They need only to be shown where the box is. The rest is pure instinct. From this and other cites:

From a young age, cats have a strong instinct to void in sand or soil. Typically, cats dig to prepare a shallow hole. More digging usually follows to cover its waste. Cats exhibit a wide range of normal behaviors relating to elimination. Some normal cats do not cover waste, while other enthusiastically dig before and after voiding.

To encourage kittens to use the litter, gently place the kitten in the pan soon after each meal. If the kitten has had an accident outside the box, simply place the mess inside the box to help the kitten make the desired association. Punishment is never necessary, as kittens usually learn quickly. Avoid disturbing your cat while it is using the box and never punish it for any reason when it is near the box.

You can take a young kitten from it's mother (I don't advise doing so, I'm just saying you can for purposes of this argument) at a very young age, long before any "lessons" have been given, and it will naturally learn to use the litter, as long as you show it where the box is. If you don't show it where the box is, it may find its own substitute, such as a potted plant or a pile of clothes--anywhere it can satisfy its natural urge to bury its eliminations.

[Zabali_Clawbane]

Respectfully Q.E.D. , you are mistaken. Your cites are faulty. If it were pure instinct as you claim, than there wouldn't be so many web sites and pet care books advising people how best to deal with their darling cat shitting all over the house, much less not covering their poo. It's not pure instinct any more, it's been largely bred out. There are exceptions, and maybe those are what you've been fortunate to encounter? Some cats may be "throwbacks" and have stronger instincts, but in general the domestic cat population of the world does not instincitively know how to use the litter box. It seems that way because people get the cats after the mother cat has taught them. They begin early, but the lessons aren't complete until after weaning. Maybe one of the board's vets can better explain, like Vetbridge? (You are a veteranarian, aren't you Vetbridge?)

[Zabali_Clawbane]

If you can wait till after it's been weaned to take it home, and let it stay with it's mother for a bit longer you won't have to do much to train it. If mom has good litterbox habits, and is a good teacher she'll show them the ropes. (The kitten really needs the time past weaning with mom to learn socialization/manners anyway. It's just a matter of how impatient the owners of the mother are.) You'll just have to remind the little one where the litter box is a few times. You can also check the index here for serveral in-depth "how to" guides.

[Man With a Cat]

When we brought Cuervo home, he was three weeks old, abandoned (or lost) by his mother and essentially clueless. He barely had the strength to stand for long on his own. The first complete day we had him, in quarantine in the upstairs bathroom, I came home from work with a litter box and litter. At that time, he was living on a couple blankets on the floor. While I was in with him setting up the litter box, he started to urinate on a towel I had scrunched up in the corner. I snatched him up, and placed him in the litter box, where he just continued doing his busienss.

He finished, turned around to look at it, started pawing in the sand, and eventually skritched litter over it.

Cuervo loves his litter box . Sometimes we even catch him napping in it.

[Corii]

Originally Posted by Zabali_Clawbane

If you can wait till after it's been weaned to take it home, and let it stay with it's mother for a bit longer you won't have to do much to train it. If mom has good litterbox habits, and is a good teacher she'll show them the ropes. (The kitten really needs the time past weaning with mom to learn socialization/manners anyway. It's just a matter of how impatient the owners of the mother are.) You'll just have to remind the little one where the litter box is a few times. You can also check the index here for serveral in-depth "how to" guides.

This is correct, when we brought home our new kitten all I needed to do was show her where the box was and she knew what to do right away. Be advised though that the first few times you need to hold the kitten to trim it's claws it might get scared and leak a little bit (as ours did). Always use an old towel!

[chappachula]

Originally Posted by Khadaji

I am thinking about getting a kitten. How long will it take for it to learn to use the litter box?

Make sure the kitten is at least 6 weeks old before you take it from its mother. You should have zero problems. Just put her in the box, and she'll probably figure it out immediately. But don't adopt a too-young kitten,(less than 6 -8 weeks) or you may have big problems. Apparently , it [i]is/[i] a natural instinct--but it has to develop naturally. I once saved a kitten that was separated too early from it's mother, and she never learned.

[chappachula]

off topic--but I just gotta point out that as soon as I posted, the Google ads changed to religous topics. One about preparing for the Hajj, and one about Jesus's life. Now me, I love my cats, but I dont worship them....

[yBeayf]

I don't remember (as usual) where I heard or read this, but it was alleged that this could be a display of dominance; i.e. "I'm so much the alpha I don't even have to cover my shit."

This is true. Dominant cats will leave their excrement uncovered as a sign they rule the area. My friends with five cats, their "alpha" cat doesn't cover his business, as he sees himself as in charge. The other cats will cover it for him, though, especially if humans are around -- all they know is that they aren't dominant, and therefore any excrement must be covered asap.

[kushiel]

I thought that covering their waste was to hide their trail from predators. Why would a kitten use the same litterbox as an older cat they had just been introduced to? Wouldn't they see the older cat as a natural threat before being shown that there were enough resources for both?

[yBeayf]

Why would a kitten use the same litterbox as an older cat they had just been introduced to?

She might not, which is why it's always an excellent idea when introducing a new cat to a household to give her one or more litterboxes of her own, at least at first.